Advice: Mantra Salon and Spa owner puts down her scissors

ST. CLOUD — Monica Voth is stepping away from her salon chair at the beginning of the new year.

Voth, from Bismarck, North Dakota, has been in the industry for three decades and opened her own studio, Mantra Salon and Spa, in 2014.

Before that, she spent years as an employee and even ran her own salon, Monica’s on Ninth Ave, out of a basement.

Her aim? To create a team environment, she said, with a staff of nine stylists and two front-desk personnel.

“That’s a huge part of it, helping to empower women, too, because it’s a female-dominated industry, but a lot of people that make the most money are men in our industry,” Voth said. “So, I wanted to be able to help grow, train and coach, which, funnily enough, I’m just starting to be able to do really, because I’ve retired from behind the chair, and I just wasn’t able to do both at the same time. There aren’t enough hours in the day.”

Voth, who has rented booths and even taught at a beauty school, shared three pieces of advice on what it takes to be a successful business owner.

Even before opening Mantra Salon and Spa, Voth hired a business coach, which she said is “one of the biggest things” that’s helped her.

“They help guide you, teach you and hold you accountable,” she said. “Because when you’re the owner, you really have to hold yourself accountable, and I think that definitely helps. It helps see your blind spots and kind of what’s missing and it’s kind of a support system.”

Voth said she’s relied on trade-specific business coaches, who know the ins and outs of the salon business.

“I feel like they just have better insight because they know how this industry works,” she said.

Networking groups also have helped Mantra Salon and Spa keep its lights on for more than a decade, Voth said.

She joined the St. Cloud Area Chamber of Commerce in 2010, years before she opened the downtown salon.

“That kind of helps you as a support system, meeting other like-minded people, other business people,” she said. “When you’re in a networking group, that’s kind of what it’s all about is helping each other succeed.”

Since opening Mantra Salon and Spa, Voth has taken her fair share of lumps, she said.

“It’s not really if or when it will happen,” Voth said. “You will get knocked down many times, and it’s being able to get back up. One of our mantras is knowing that failure is only failure if you quit. Otherwise, I always just say they are learning opportunities.”

Challenges come with the territory as a business owner, having difficult conversations and trying to please everybody, she said.

“I’ve had some hard knocks running this business for the past 11 years, and there were times when it was hard getting back up,” Voth said. “But I always said, ‘Well, OK, time to pull my big-girl panties back on and let’s get back at it.

“But it’s not easy. There’s been plenty of fits I’ve thrown or crying jags,” she added. “It’s the most difficult thing I’ve ever done, owning a business.”

What: Mantra Salon and Spa, offering hair styling, coloring, makeup application and massages
Where: 811 W. St. Germain St.
When: Open 10 a.m.-8 p.m., Tuesday-Thursday; 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Friday; 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday; closed Sunday and Monday.
Contact: 320-281-5769
Online:

mantrasalonmn.com